ALEXANDER: Pinch hitting may be Peterson's niche

LOS ANGELES — Figuring out how to be an effective pinch hitter is hard enough when you’re a veteran resigned to the twilight of your career.

But when you’re still trying to fight your way into the big leagues? Getting to The Show and staying there is a big enough challenge. Trying to do so with one at-bat a night is almost like piling on.

Milwaukee’s Shane Peterson, who deals with that dual challenge these days, takes a philosophical approach.

“The thing about young guys, nine of 10 of them come up in a supporting role,” the former Temecula Chaparral High and Long Beach State standout said. “Not many guys get to come up and start and play every single day.”

Peterson, a 27-year-old left fielder/first baseman, was the Brewers’ only left-handed bat on the bench Friday night against the Dodgers and wasn’t needed. That’s currently his role after an initial stretch of playing every day following his recall June 3, which included an 11-for-26 hot streak that pushed his average over .300 for a few days in late June.

But just being a major leaguer is a delight for a guy who has logged seven-plus seasons in the minors, including time in Triple-A each of the last five seasons.

Before this year, his previous major league experience was a tall latte with Oakland in 2013, a night game followed by a day game — “I was only up for 28 hours total,” he says — while Brandon Moss was on paternity leave. Peterson started twice at first base, went 1 for 7, and went back down.

Will he have more staying power this time? When outfielder Khris Davis came off the Brewers’ disabled list this past Tuesday, Peterson stayed and pitcher David Goforth was sent down to Colorado Springs.

With that reprieve, Peterson delivered pinch hits in three straight games against Atlanta, one of which was a double and two of which drove in runs.

Overall, he’s hitting .292 with a .707 OPS (and 24 strikeouts in 30 games) since his callup. As a pinch hitter, he’s 3 for 9 with two doubles, two RBI and a .956 OPS, as well as six strikeouts. He has had high strikeout numbers through the minors, but also has had six seasons with 20 or more doubles, including 40 doubles and 90 RBI last season with the A’s Sacramento affiliate.

When he was called up, Peterson was hitting .320 with a .911 OPS, and 41 strikeouts in 172 at-bats, at Colorado Springs.

Obviously, hitting PCL pitching — and hitting in that league’s notorious hitter’s parks — is easier than hitting big league pitching. The flip side is that big league hitters have better scouting information on the pitchers they’ll face.

“It can be a good thing and a bad thing, depending on how you look at it and how much you want to use it,” he said. In the minors, he added, “you have an idea what the guy throws, and generally how he throws it, but you don’t always know the exact detail you do up here.”

But the pinch hitter’s mindset can be difficult to get used to. Peterson said he and his teammates in Colorado Springs had discussed it, and he specifically mentioned Pete Orr, a 36-year-old Canadian who has played 443 major league games with the Braves, Nationals and Phillies, as someone who had provided advice.

“Some guys are naturally better at it than other guys, but you’ve got to try and figure out what works best for you,” Peterson said. “The hardest thing for me mentally is knowing that this is the one at-bat. You might only get one swing. You might get one pitch. You might not get any to swing at. But you’re trying to make the most of that one.

“When you get four or five at-bats, you know eventually you’re going to get a pitch to hit … there’s more opportunity for things to go well. When you get that one (at-bat), you’ve got to be ready. If it’s a bad swing and you pop up, your day’s over. I just try to be as focused as possible.”

Right now Peterson is the fifth outfielder as well as the lefty bat off the bench. Given that the Brewers, going into Saturday, were 14 games under .500 and 10½ games out of a wild card spot, a trade — and potential opportunity for Peterson — is not inconceivable.

A little security would be welcome relief after 828 minor league games, 395 of them in Triple-A.

“When they called somebody (else) up, I didn’t really think about who deserved it more,” he said. “For me, it didn’t matter what other people were doing. If I didn’t take care of my own business on the field, then I wasn’t going to get that shot anyway.

“…It’s tough, it definitely is, because nobody really wants to be in the minor leagues. But I try not to worry about the future.”

Right now, he’s better off being ready for anything. That is, after all, the definition of a pinch hitter’s existence.

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